Begin Again
by persizzle
Summary: After the battle of Half-Blood Hill, Will Solace is eager to get to know Nico di Angelo. But the son of Hades is determined to make it as hard for him as possible.
1. Chapter 1

**Quick Author's Note:**

 **So this is my first fic I've uploaded on here, I usually do it on tumblr. I'm planning on it being a story with a few short parts. it started out as a tumblr fic which is why its on the short side (basically, its short). Its full of Solangelo fluff though so don't worry! I'm working on a bigger one which I've already written quite a few chapters of, which is going to be a lottt more angsty and dark lol, so that's to come if anyone is interested...(they're probably not). HOPE YOU ENJOY!**

Will and Nico had been sitting on the beach in complete silence for over five minutes now.

"There is no use in hiding it from you is there?" Nico said, as if he was persuading himself to talk.

"Nope." said Will blankly.

"Okay." Nico took a deep breath. Whatever he was about to say, it was obviously a hard topic for him to talk about.

"Since I was about ten years old," he began, "I've had a crush on Per-"

His voice broke.

"It's okay Nico," Will said, trying to sound as gentle as possible, "I won't judge you."

"I had a crush on Percy Jackson." he said.

It took Will a few seconds to process the words. _Percy_. The Percy Jackson _he_ knew? The Percy Jackson who was a _boy_? That must've meant…oh my gods. Nico _was_ gay. Will's suspicions had been correct. A flash of hope surged through his body. Will wasn't surprised that Nico had developed a crush on Percy, I mean, who hadn't. He had never admitted it to anyone, but during the battle of Manhattan last summer, Will had realised that he'd had a crush on the son of Poseidon as well. He remembered the battle at the Williamsburg Bridge very clearly. Percy had walked out on his own, in front of an army of heavily armed monsters in order to make himself the target, giving Annabeth and Michael Yew a chance to regroup the defensive line. Will had been in awe of him, and wished Percy would notice him at camp more. He never did.

But Will was over that now. He had been getting strange feelings about the son of Hades recently. Nico hardly _ever_ showed up at camp, but when he did, Will had found every excuse he could to talk to him. From the very first day he had shown up at Camp Half Blood, he had been intrigued by the son of Hades. He didn't even know why he had found him so fascinating? I mean, Nico was clearly attractive, even though he always looked exhausted and fairly close to death. That bit wasn't great. But apart from that, Will appreciated the lack of care he took over his appearance. He dug the scruffy look Nico always had going on. It made him look adventurous and kind of dangerous. And under all the performances he put on, he was a genuinely kind person. He was a hero. The reason people didn't approach him was because of the aura he gave off. He _literally_ radiated death. But Will still couldn't get enough of the all black, aviator jacket style.

When Nico had turned up on Half Blood Hill two days ago, he had been so sick that Will was tempted to pick him up, and carry him up to the infirmary. But he knew that probably wouldn't have gone down well. He knew Nico hated human contact. Even though Nico was an intimidating character, (for example, the whole pulling dead people out of the ground thing…), Will could see through the facade he put on. Nico had sad eyes. He was desperately lonely, and Will desperately wanted to change that.

His train of thought was suddenly broken.

"Hello? Earth to Will?" Nico prodded.

He didn't know how to reply, so he just said the first thing that came into his head.

"So…do you still have a crush on him?"

Nico stared in bewilderment.

"I just admitted to you that I was gay, and that I had a crush on Percy Jackson? How are you acting so casually about this?"

"Well for starters," Will began, "I'm gay too."

Nico's facial expression changed from a look of worry to one of relief.

"Secondly," Will continued, "I had a crush on him too, about this time last year. So Nico, answer my question. Do you still like Percy?"

Nico looked conflicted.

"I don't know what I feel." He replied, looking down at the sand, as if he was ashamed.

Will didn't know what to say. He didn't want to push the topic, but he desperately wanted to know if he had a chance with Nico.

"Okay di Angelo, it's time you got some rest. I'll make you up some ambrosia in the infirmary, and then you need to sleep."


	2. Chapter 2

Will was working the morning shift in the infirmary, making up the beds, when Nico di Angelo came by to talk to him.

"Hey Nico!" Will said, happy at the fact Nico had decided to approach him first. This hardly ever happened.

"Hey Will, I actually came to ask you for some medical advice. You see, I tried shadow travelling yesterday, and I managed it, but I felt like I was about faint afterwards, and I still feel really drained now. Do you have any ambrosia or something?"

Will's heart dropped. Nico had only come to ask him for some _medical advice_. _Oh well,_ he thought, _it was too good to be true, Nico actually talking to me first, like_ ** _that_** _would happen_. After Will had given him a glass of ambrosia, he and Nico had just made small talk for a bit.

However, later on when Will had just been about to finish his shift, things had gotten a bit more serious. After chatting, Nico had stayed to help him out a bit, just running mini errands and things. Will wasn't finding it as awkward as he would've before. After constantly being in Nico's company for the best part of two months, Will liked to think he had gotten to know the son of Hades pretty well. They had been flirting an awful lot, but Will still didn't think he was any closer to identifying where he stood with Nico. He desperately wanted to be with him, and he desperately wanted to know if the son of Hades returned his feelings.

Will was just putting some bandages into a cupboard by a hospital bed, when Nico said,

"Can we just cut the crap, Solace?"

He sounded annoyed, but this was often his way of flirting. In his surprise, Will had dropped the bandage roll he had been holding, and it had unravelled all over the floor.

"What's the matter Nico?" Will asked, still not knowing if the son of Hades had been joking or not.

Normally, at this point, Nico would've smiled and said something insulting, but not this time. His facial expression remained serious. Instead of answering his question, the son of Hades walked up to Will and stood right in front of him, looking him straight in the eyes. They had been standing there in complete silence for about ten seconds now. Will looked into Nico's dark brown, almost black eyes, and suddenly felt the urge to kiss him. He edged a bit closer. As if he could read his thoughts, Nico did the same. Will put his hand on the back of Nico's head, and went in for the kiss. Everything was going well, but just as Will had dared to think that, he slipped on the bandage roll he had dropped and fell onto the hospital bed, dragging Nico with him. The son of Hades landed right on top of him.

 _Well_ ** _this_** _is awkward,_ he thought.

He expected Nico to climb right off of him straight away, as he didn't like human contact. But instead, Nico started to laugh. _Laugh? Nico laughing?_ _Well there is a first time for everything_. He started to laugh as well.

When their laughter died down, Will noticed Nico was staring at him. This was the closest they had ever been, their faces were about 5cm apart. Was Nico going to kiss him?

Just then, the infirmary door opened, and in walked Annabeth and Percy. _Percy_. Oh gods…Nico.

Will wondered if Nico still had feelings for the son of Poseidon. Well if he did, things were about to get _really_ awkward.

"Oh my god!" Percy jumped, and quickly turned away. Annabeth did the same.

"We're _so_ sorry," Annabeth said, as Nico got back on his feet, "We didn't interrupt anything, did we? We were just coming to get some bandages. One of the Aphrodite kids fell off of the climbing wall. I think she might need a healer."

"It wasn't what it looked like." Nico quickly said.

"Yeah," Will added, "We just, um, fell…"

"We're really sorry anyway…" Percy said. "Will? Could you tell us where a healer is that isn't, um, doing anything?"

"I'll come and help, I'll be right there" said Will, trying his best not meet Percy's eyes.

"No really, it's fine if you're like, um, busy…"

"No, it's really fine." He replied. He started shuffling around, looking for his supplies.

"Right then…see you in a second!"

Percy and Annabeth quickly exited the room. He and Nico were alone again.

Nico looked _really_ embarrassed. Will could understand that. He'd only just come out to Percy after all. Or was it something else…

Will banished the thought from his head.

He looked at Nico. The son of Hades gave him a look that said, _I can't do this right now_ , and ran out of the infirmary, the door swinging behind him.

"Great." Will said out loud. "Just great."


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note:**

 **Thanks to the people who have been reading! The fact that people have liked this has made me so happy! This is the final part of Begin Again, and the FLUFFIEST may I add ;) . I've been writing something else called 'For All That You Are", and the first chapter is already done so I should be putting that up in the next couple of days. It's a very different fic to this one, that's I'm going to say for now! Again thanks so much if you're reading this, hope you enjoy x**

The last few weeks hadn't been easy for the Will Solace. Ever since the incident in the infirmary, Nico wouldn't even look at him. He had felt he had been starting to get really close to the Son of Hades, but obviously Nico hadn't felt the same way. Well…the fact that Nico was prepared to kiss him when they were alone, suggested he maybe did have feelings for Will, but...

He hated being ignored. He could understand Nico wanting to take a little bit of a break from seeing him, but _three weeks_ without a single word? Will wasn't happy. There were so many worries whizzing around in his head. Did Nico hate him? Did he want to date Will? Was he still in love with Percy?

Will didn't know what to think. He was so fed up with having to make the first move with Nico _all the time._ But the sad thing was, he would've gone to the ends of the earth for him. He _loved_ him. He didn't know what to do.

Eventually, it reached mid-December, and it was coming up to Christmas. Most of the demigods Will knew well were staying at camp for the holidays. This should've made him happy, but he couldn't stop thinking about Nico. How could Christmas be happy with this hanging over him?

But Will wanted to enjoy the time he spent with his friends, especially now that Leo had come back. So, he decided to push the thought from his head.

This worked well until Christmas Eve, when he, Piper, Leo and Calypso were sitting in the Aphrodite cabin. Percy and Annabeth were there too, and they were buzzing about their most recent trip to New Rome. They were both looking at colleges and they had their whole future mapped out. In just under two years, _Will_ would be looking at colleges. _Woah_. The thought of leaving Camp Half-Blood made him want to cry, and that just made him think of Nico again.

After that, the conversation soon turned to relationships and crushes. Will engaged, but he kept quiet about Nico. All things were going well, until Percy asked the question Will had been most dreading.

"Will?" said Percy, cautiously.

"Yes?"

Even though he was well over his crush on the Son of Poseidon, he still felt a bit awkward talking to him.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was that about with you and Nico the other month in the infirmary? You were like on top of each other?"

Will didn't know how to answer the question.

"Wait what?!" Piper interjected, "Will? Are you seeing Nico?"

"No, no!" Will snapped back, with probably a bit too much panic in his voice. Piper looked unconvinced.

Out of the seven demigods in the second great prophecy, he knew Piper the best. She had always been in the infirmary when Nico was there, supporting her boyfriend Jason Grace, because when Nico got ill, Jason became almost as worried as Will did. Nico had previously explained to him that Jason was the first person to _ever_ find out about his sexuality. He had explained the whole fiasco with cupid, how he had forced Nico to confess his feelings and how he'd used his suffering as a form of entertainment. It made Will sick.

He found Piper was the best person to go to for sensible love advice, maybe because she was a daughter of Aphrodite, or maybe because she was just intelligent. Whatever the reason, she was reliable. She advised to love with your heart, but also with your head.

"That is _such_ a lie!" she replied. She wasn't going to give up.

"Don't worry Will, we're all friends here! You can say!" interjected Leo, who wasn't really taking the situation seriously. Calypso shot him a dirty look that said, _be sensitive Valdez._

"Well…" Will started to say, but before he could continue, the cabin door opened. Reyna and Nico walked in.

 **Awkward.**

As soon as Nico saw Will, he turned to leave. _Oh great,_ Will thought, _here we go again_. But in that moment, he suddenly felt a surge of determination. Why was it fair that Nico was ignoring him? He deserved answers. So, before Nico could leave, he shouted after him,

"Nico, hold up! I have been meaning to talk to you, considering the fact you haven't taken the time to approach me."

Nico turned around momentarily and Will saw his facial expression. He looked almost _scared?_ Will suddenly felt bad. The last thing he wanted to do was to make Nico uncomfortable, but he needed answers? He was tired of waiting. The Son of Hades started to walk off, but Will wasn't giving up. This time, he repeated Nico's name, but got up from where he was sitting and followed him outside.

Nico spun around.

"Will? What are you doing? You know I don't want to do this here."

"Well I'm sorry Nico, but if we don't talk about this now, we never will. I've tried so many times to talk to you in private about this, but I have been rejected every time. I'm fed up, so we are doing this here."

Nico looked slightly taken aback, as did the other campers who had just filed out of the Aphrodite cabin. Will hadn't realised how angry he was getting. It was like all of the hurt and rejection from over the past few months was coming out in that moment. He had been bottling it up for so long and now it was finally time for him to explode. Nico stood there in silence and Will persisted.

"Do you not like me? Is that what it is? Because if that's the reason you have been ignoring me, then why did you nearly kiss me back in the infirmary?"

By this time, a crowd of other campers had started to form and more were arriving by the second. Will didn't want to make a scene, but if this is what it took to get through to Nico, Will was prepared to do it.

"Oh my god, Will!" Nico yelled, "And you say I'm dense? Of course I like you! It's just- "

He suddenly stopped.

"It's just what?" Will said, trying to lower his tone.

"These feelings are scaring me. Hell, I'm terrified! I mean the fact I'm even okay with people knowing I'm gay is a big thing, a thing that I would've never been able to cope with a year ago. But actually _acting_ on those feelings? I've lost too many people in the past, Will and it's likely in no time at all you'd leave me too. Everyone does."

Everyone was silent. Will didn't know what to say.

Just then, it started to snow. Beautiful flakes of white were falling, catching the light of the evening sunset. They looked like tiny flakes of gold.

"I can't do this." Nico snapped. He turned on his heel and ran for the forest.

"Wait Nico, where are you going?" Will shouted after him, running to catch him up.

Nico looked oddly beautiful in contrast to the white snow. He was a skinny figure, all dressed in black, up against the purely white backdrop of the blizzard.

"I'm leaving!" He shouted back. "I don't know what ever made me think I belonged here? Everyone will be better off without me."

Will wanted to argue, but he also wanted to cry. Didn't he make Nico feel wanted? How could Nico underestimate Will's feelings for him by such a great amount? He needed Nico to know he cared, he needed him to know he was loved. So, without thinking, Will ran after him and shouted,

"Nico, I am in love with you."

Nico did a double take. He looked as if no one had ever said that to him before, and Will wasn't lying. He did love Nico. These past few months he had spent with Nico had been the happiest he'd ever had.

Nico continued to say nothing, but Will didn't wait for a response. He ran the rest of the distance between him and the Son of Hades, took his face in his hands and kissed him. Time stood still. It was like there was no one else there but him and Nico. In the snow and the sunset, the scene must've looked perfect, but Will knew that wasn't the case. The situation was far from perfect.

When Will pulled out of the kiss, Nico's facial expression had dramatically changed. He was crying, but instead of a look of pain on his face, there was a look of joy, and almost relief.

"What's the matter Nico?" Will asked.

"I just don't get it? Why would you still want to date me? After how I ignored you and pushed you away. Why would you still bother with me?"

"Because I love you, Death Boy. Nothing is ever going to change that."

Normally Nico would've protested against the nickname, but this time he said nothing. He no longer looked confused or conflicted. Something told Will that all the feelings Nico had ever had for Percy had now vanished. The Son of Hades finally looked happy.

Tears were starting to form in Will's eyes. Nico put his hands on the back of his head and brought him closer until their foreheads were touching.

"I love you too." He said.

Will could've stayed there forever. He finally felt full. Like all of the fighting, the healing and the loss had been for something. He felt like this was a new chapter for Nico, a new chapter for both of them. And he couldn't wait to see what the future had in store.


End file.
